Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 1598 Kuizhou

"The guys from the inspection team are really annoying, think of yourself as an imperial envoy!" It's the season when the flowers are becoming more and more charming, Guo Puxia is leading a smooth horse slowly forward in the mountains on the north bank of the Yangtze River .Just now, he received an urgent letter from a naval gunboat accompanying the army.

The letter was sent from Ningbo, signed by the Southern Theater Command.The letter asked Guo Puxia to return to Madang Town from the Shunjun-controlled area immediately, and assist the members of the investigation team sent by the local government to understand the situation, evaluate political performance, and audit financial affairs.The staff who wrote the letter probably thought that Guo Puxia was still stranded in Yunyang Prefecture, so the letter was originally sent to the East Coast Temporary Liaison Office in Fangxian County (there are more than ten people working in a rented private house in the local area). At that time, Guo Puxia had followed Liu Guochang's men to the Guizhou and Badong front lines of Jingzhou Prefecture, planning to go further west to Kuizhou Prefecture, as a reserve and backup team for the main force led by Liu Zhonggui.

And when the letter finally caught up with the more than 1 horsemen of Dashun Zuoying General and Jinghou Liu Guochang, they had already entered the territory of Jianshi County, Kuizhou Prefecture, and it was already April 1671, 4.Unsurprisingly, Guo Puxia hated this kind of thing deeply, and at the same time felt a little guilty-it's nothing to investigate political achievements, the conscience of heaven and earth, as a key officer of the gendarmerie, he, Guo, has been running between Ningbo and Huguang for these years, without any credit There is also hard work, as long as people are not blind, they can see his efforts and contributions.But when it comes to the accounts, he is quite in the way. It's not that he embezzled public funds or something. In fact, the accounts over the years have been a little messy. It is certain that the various details do not match. When it comes to strict auditing, he, Mr. Guo, is a bit troublesome (although the higher-ups have given them such expatriates a high degree of freedom), that's why he was more annoyed when he heard that someone from the higher-ups came over.

At this time, he and some of his cronies followed Liu Guochang and more than 72 people have entered Sichuan. Because there are two east coast navy inland river gunboats (which can also carry some goods and personnel) on the river, they are escorting a number of 3 ships assembled in black water. The ton-level inland river small steamer is helping the Shun army to transport supplies, so Liu Guochang's troops are traveling lightly, and each department only carries a few days of rations, hoping to rush to the front line quickly and help the Dashun queen who came from the west of Hunan The battalion of more than [-] troops attacked the flanks of Kuizhou Mansion, so that the [-]-odd main force of the Left Battalion led by Liu Zhonggui could wipe out the resistance of the Qing army as soon as possible, and occupy the entire Kuizhou Mansion.

Guo Puxia, a captain of the gendarmerie, had undergone rigorous military training when he was young. In addition, his physical fitness was naturally better than the average person, so he never felt so difficult when marching on the east coast.However, when he followed Shunjun Zuoying into Sichuan this time, he realized what it means to be difficult on the mountain road along the way-Liu Guochang chose the marching route to avoid some unpredictable chieftains in western Hunan and eastern Sichuan, but it was also extremely difficult all the way. .A veritable narrow path, drifting like a gossamer among the high mountains; the wind howls, the drizzle carries the journey, a pair of straw sandals and cloth shoes, the soles of the feet are all worn out with holes or blood blisters.Guo Puxia's suede military boots were extremely painful to walk on such a road, but in the end he gritted his teeth and persisted. He is a proud soldier on the east coast, and he should not be looked down upon by these local turtles.

Although the army carried rations for several days, Liu Guochang still ordered to save some food, so as to avoid any accidents and delays, they would not be able to get food in the mountains, so everyone's stomachs were never full.Although Guo Puxia brought a lot of light food such as chocolates along with him, but others are tightening their belts to live a hard life, so what is it for you to munch and eat here?Therefore, after giving some chocolates to a few young Shunjun soldiers who looked only fourteen or fifteen years old and couldn't even lift a spear, he endured the hunger in his belly and marched with his head covered.

"It's been a long way into Jianshi County, but I still haven't contacted the people in the back camp. Maybe it's going to be late, so will Liu Guochang launch an attack alone?" A second lieutenant staff moved with heavy steps. Come over, lower your voice and say to Guo Puxia: "Now Liu Zhonggui's elite main force is besieging Wu Sangui's side division repeatedly, and if this flank attack can't be effective again, wouldn't it be a big deal this time?"

Guo Puxia picked up a few dried fruits from the ground, looked at them with his hands free, and then said: "Even if we fail to make contact, given the current situation, we must fight. If we don't destroy Xia Guoxiang's 2 people, Wu Sangui’s lair is not under any real threat, and since his lair is not under any real threat, then you expect him to come back from Yunnan and Guizhou for rescue? How is this possible! Who is Wu Sangui? Stand up!"

The dried fruit Guo Puxia picked up came from an old man next to him.He was originally carrying two baskets of fruit to sell in the country farms, but unexpectedly met the Shun Army, a troop with knives and guns, and was so frightened that he carried the burden and wanted to run away, but his soles slipped in panic and fell on the bluestone slab It's upside down, red dried fruit rolled all over the ground.Some Shunjun soldiers who were hungry in their bellies immediately bent down to pick it up, and stuffed it into their pockets laughingly, or started to eat directly.

The old man felt distressed and frightened when he saw it, and he didn't dare to go forward to stop him, because he was afraid that the soldiers who didn't pick up the fruit would come to vent his anger on him, so he just squatted on the ground silently, muttering incessantly: "It's over, it's over!" ! This is all over!"

Seeing him pitiful, Guo Puxia took out a few silver dollars with a denomination of one yuan from his pocket, stuffed them into the old man's hand, then turned around and said to the second lieutenant staff officer who was following him: "The key to the situation now is here. I heard that Wu Sangui The army led by them will be besieging Guiyang City. Sun Kewang, the commander-in-chief of the Nanming army, will personally attack the city and fight against the city. The Wu army will not be able to take Guiyang as a key node for a while. On the side of Kuizhou Mansion, tens of thousands of people from the left camp of the Shun army have repeatedly fought So much so that they had to mobilize continued military support from Badong and Guizhou. It can be said that if Liu Zhonggui and others cannot break through the Kuizhou defense line organized by Xia Guoxiang as soon as possible and threaten Chongqing, Shunqing, and Baoning, Xiangyang's The main force of the Qing army will move immediately, and then the troops of the front battalion, middle battalion, and right battalion of Dashun will also be forced to move accordingly, and then a scuffle will be hard to avoid. In this scuffle, the days of the left battalion But it’s definitely not easy, so now we must defeat the Qing army in front of us as quickly as possible, otherwise the situation may get out of control.”

"We've been fighting for several months, and we haven't even taken all of Kuizhou's mansion. Xia Guoxiang is an experienced soldier, and his strategy is not bad. Do those shrimp soldiers and crab generals under Liu Zhonggui really have a chance to win?" The second lieutenant staff officer handed over a water bottle to Guo Puxia, it contains boiled water brewed with cocoa powder and sucrose. Guo Puxia almost drools when he smells it, and there is such a good thing!

"Ask Liu Zhonggui and He Zhen if you have a chance. They are the front-line commanders." Guo Puxia said angrily, "If it really doesn't work, I can only suggest that the superiors choose to implement a backup plan, which is to support Wu Sangui as a self-reliant leader." The king of Shu broke away from the rule of the Qing court and made the situation in China into three parts. Although one of them is obviously stronger than the other two, there is no better way."

"Letting Wu Sangui establish himself as the king of Shu is also in the interests of our east bank, but we just don't know how to get in touch with him, and the Qing court will definitely not let him establish a system and become king so easily. Alas, this matter is not difficult. Small ones, it’s best to maintain the status quo, and hope that Sun Kewang, Liu Wenxiu, and Li Dingguo will give more strength to withstand Wu Sangui’s offensive. In fact, he is not that strong. He picked up several dried fruits and said while chewing. The taste of the fruits is not very good, but in this place where food is scarce, some are good to eat.

The whole team seems to have received an order to rest on the spot. The Shunjun soldiers who had been running for a long time sat on the ground with their buttocks on the ground, those who beat straw sandals, those who patched clothes, those who caught lice, and those who caught lice. In fact, it is still relatively cold in the mountains in July, and now it is the low temperature period. Guo Puxia noticed that many soldiers of the Shun army in thin clothes were trembling after sitting down for the first time, but they were not allowed to live in this meeting , so each of them is very difficult, so they can only huddle together to keep warm.

These days are really tough. I don't know if this is the case in Zuoying alone, or in the entire Shunjun system. It shouldn't be so!Guo Puxia looked at those left battalion soldiers with thin clothes (even with patches on them) with a slightly pitiful look, and heaved a long sigh. With such equipment, such supplies, and such morale, how could they fight against them!It is indeed a miracle that more than 7 troops from the Left Camp of the Shun Army have persisted in the west of Huguang for so many years, and they have not been wiped out by the combined forces of the Qing troops from Xiangyang and Chongqing!It's just that the sudden change in the situation now forced them to no longer play a comfortable defensive battle, and started to go out to chew on Xia Guoxiang's hard bones, which was indeed a bit difficult for them.In the final analysis, Zuoying is too poor. Yunyang Mansion plus half of Kuizhou Mansion cannot afford to support an army of up to [-] troops. But it is still seriously insufficient.

"Where is Liu Zhonggui's main force now? Have you captured Wanxian? I remember that all the supplies transported by the navy ships were unloaded at Wanxian Wharf. Speaking of which, we have already lost several ships in this area. It's not that big, don't make it to the end, and it's still a failure, it's very uncomfortable." Guo Puxia said after gulping down the chocolate syrup from the kettle.

The "several ships lost" he mentioned just now refers to a total of four ships that have sunk in the Three Gorges area of ​​the Yangtze River in the past few months. .Of these four ships, two were accidentally sunk when they hit the rocks, and two were burned by fire boats after being attacked by the Qing army navy at night, which is also unlucky.

The loss of these four ships made Jiang Zhiqing of the Southern Exploration Team heartbroken for a while, because these were ships that were difficult to replenish.Especially those shallow water gunboats in inland rivers have not been replenished for many years. It is tantamount to destroying one and losing one, which is really helpless.And even the 72-ton inland river steamer that has been phased out locally can be assembled in the Heishui Shipyard (the main components still need to be imported from the local area), but the output is quite limited, and the demand is infinite. Now give you All of a sudden, three ships were lost on the rivers in Hubei and Sichuan. What did Liao Xiaoyao, Jiang Zhiqing and others say?

However, even though these ships have been lost in the Three Gorges area, the determination of the East Bank side to help the Shun army transfer materials and personnel has not changed at all.A large amount of food, equipment, luggage, medicine and even personnel are still being transported to Kuizhou Prefecture through the natural transportation line of the Yangtze River to attack the main force of the left camp of more than 72 in Wanxian, Yunyang, and Kaixian.After all, their equipment is not as good as that of Wu Jun, their training may not be as good, and they are fighting at home. If the logistics are not sufficient, then there is no need to fight this battle, it must be useless!Therefore, even though the people on the east bank have lost several ships, after reporting to their superiors, the Madang Fortress immediately dispatched two more naval inland gunboats and four [-]-ton inland river steamers to transfer supplies to the Three Gorges area. This shows the strength of determination.

"Boss, should you turn back? Madang needs you to go back to the town, after all, the group of imperial envoys are hard to deal with. And you also need to make a special report to them about the situation in the Southwest." Second Lieutenant Staff Officer He asked again, he also knew the content of the urgent mail sent from the east, so he asked a question.

"Of course, the superiors have issued orders, and I can't disobey them." Guo Puxia took off his military cap, twirled it with his fingers, and said, "But after I leave, you can't be lazy. Don’t be afraid of suffering or tiredness, you must follow Liu Guochang’s troops, keep abreast of the battle situation of each department, and then bring the news back to Madang Town through the ships of the navy brothers. I emphasize again, you must keep up with the troops of the Shun Army. If you don’t eat well, don’t dress warmly, and you can walk such a long mountain road, there is no reason for you to keep up. In short, if you let me know that you bastards dare to be lazy, I won’t kill you when I come back.”

"In addition, tell the brothers in the navy to be more careful. Although the Yangtze River Navy of the Qing Army hardly dares to openly operate on the river, if they don't keep it together, one day they will be out of their minds? That densely packed boat is also a big boat. Trouble. Besides, they dare not move during the day, and these people will often come out to jump around at night. If they accidentally let them touch them, like the boat that set fire in Wanxian and went down the river, it would be silly. Be careful, we can't afford to lose more ships!" Guo Puxia seemed to remember something again, and said emphatically to the second lieutenant's staff: "After I leave, you will be in charge. Give me a letter in three days to report the latest developments in the southwest situation. , I hope to let me hear the news of Liu Zhonggui's invasion of Chongqing Mansion as soon as possible."

(End of this chapter)